The Sidney Elementary School hosted An Evening in the Garden on September 13, celebrating the farm-to-table activities in the district.

The event was held at the SES gardens and student members of the Green Thumb Growers Guild, the elementary garden club, led tours, served food and beverages, ran a farm stand and answered many questions. Students in grades 3-6 participated in the event.

A crowd of more than 50 people attended the evening festivities, which ran for about an hour. Members of the local garden club, teachers, school board members, administrators, students, and community members were present.

“There is so much student interest in growing and preparing food at Sidney,” said Josh Gray, who heads the program in the elementary school. “The Sidney Farm to Table program offers students a lot of different ways to learn about and work with food – from composting to growing to aquaponics to cooking.”

The event came about via the Sidney Farm to Table program, which is where students work to give fellow students the chance to taste and eat healthy food choices. The food items are worked on by Sidney Elementary students. This was the second garden event.

Sidney Farm to Table is a series of events, worked intensively by the SES Green Thumb Growers Guild. The program encompasses many things, including once-a-month showcases of local foods in healthy dishes to students at SES during lunch, as well as showing off these items at other events such as open house etc.

Sidney’s CSD’s food services prepared the food for the evening, which was then served by students. Under the Sidney Farm to Table program, the school is looking to harvest school-grown vegetables to use for school meals.

“It was a wonderful event for children to spend with their parents, give tours to others, as well as serve a variety of food items made from their own tomatoes,” Sidney Food Services Director Kim Corcoran said.

Guests were also introduced to the Sidney Farm to Table Farmers’ Market, which offers fresh local fruit and vegetables to parents in front of the elementary school during student dismissal every Monday in September and October.

The Farmers Market runs from 1:45-2:45 p.m. every Monday until the end of October. There is a possibility the market could run again in the spring, depending on local vegetable availability. The vegetables will sometimes be what is grown in the school gardens, but also include local farms. Riverside Farms is the first the program connected with. This follows models promoted by the USDA and New York State Farm to School programs.

Sidney is a leading school in the region beginning to develop a local network of farmers who can supply the school with healthy local produce and food, Gray said.

During the event, the Green Thumb Growers Guild was also presented with a gift card from the Wellness Committee at ACCO from a fundraiser they did last year.